Tyranena Devil Over A Barrel

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

From pfoxyjohn, via trade. Aromas and flavors of burbon, lots of oak, coffee grounds, and dark fruits, a nice complex blend that keep you guessing. Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy, with the right amount of carbonation. Overall a nice beer indeed, thanks John!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

so so awesome! .. thanks john .. . smmoth as silk .. . no abv even close to being there .. . "football or beer" .. . beutiful stuff .. . to much fun to drink.. . i am honored to have drunk this .. .

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Bottle: Poured a pitch black color porter with a nice thick brown foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of bourbon and coffee is dominating. Taste is mostly dominated by some very nice dry coffee notes with hints of vanilla and some clear bourbon though no alcohol ester were showing. Body is really creamy and thick which is very enjoyable with some good carbonation and alcohol is well hidden. Very well done overall.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Sampled on 12/12/2008. This Imperial Porter pours a deep black color from a 12oz bottle. Small to medium sized tan head. The aroma is chocolate, coffee, vanilla, oak and bourbon. A medium bodied Imperial Porter. The malts are coffee and chocolate. The hops are earthy and floral. Lots of vanilla, oak and bourbon flavors, perhaps a touch sweet. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and Smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Bottle shared by Bockyhorsey. Pour was deep dark brown with some mahoganey throughout. The head was very thin, ended as a little ring around the edges of the surface. The aroma was coffee with some cocoa and roasted elements. No bourbon? Excellent, a not overdone bourbon aged beer. The flavor followed wonderfully the aroma, excellent coffee, cocoa underneath, some roasty notes, and only a touch of vanilla / slight bourbon. The mouthfeel was smooth, oily, but not motor oil thick or sticky. Another excellent shot at a brew by Tyranena, a stellar brewery, maybe underspoken of. Thanks for sharing, Bill!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Courtesy of pfoxyjohn. Pours black with a thinnish tan head and some lacing. Little carbonation. Aromas of COFFEE and toffee with some caramels and slight hops. Taste is rich with coffee and roasted malts with a slight cream and some hops in the end. Fantastic brew.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 4

A wall of deeply roasted coffee aromatics hits my nostrils as I vigorously pour this into my 25cl tulip. The head initially forms a fat, three-finger thick, creamy, brownish, dark tan colored head. The beer is a deep black color that shows flashes of burnt ruby if held up directly to the light. A more focused inspection of the aroma yields more coffee; sour, burnt and charcoal like at first, but then some toasted bread notes, dark chocolate, spicy oak, a slight mustiness and ample, dusty, almost astringent, burnt grain husk aromas. Actual Bourbon notes are hard to pick out from the aroma, but it is hard to really tell with all of the roasted grain and coffee notes here. This has an interesting aroma, it is a bit too dominated by the coffee, which at times can make this seem a bit one-dimensional. There is a lot going on in the aroma though, you just need to dig around for it.

Creamy tasting up front, with a rich, dark malt, light sweetness. The finish washes the sweetness and richness out of my mouth though with its sour burnt focus, huge dark-roast coffee notes and just plain down right astringent, roasted bitterness. The bitterness from the coffee and grain here is huge and quite unbalanced. The finish actually makes me grimace a bit; this is mostly due to the overly roasted character, but some tannic, oak notes also contribute to the astringency of the finish. In the middle there is actually some nice, dark chocolate flavors and maybe a touch of vanillin, but this is fleeting. Boozy, somewhat hot, alcohol notes seem the biggest Bourbon contribution; while not overwhelming the alcohol definitely seems a bit more noticeable than I would expect from an 8% brew. Some toasted malt notes add a bit to this brew and there is of course a huge, dark coffee flavor here. Tastes a bit like drinking concentrated, slightly stale, long cold, black coffee, especially in the finish.

The flavors in this are huge, I can see how this is so likeable by those who like extremes, but there is just no finesse here, no real semblance of balance. This ends up being much more of a chore to drink than it should be & I am now regretting that I chose to write about this beer instead of just cracking open a Blind Pig. I feel really bad about it, but this beer just sucks; this is actually objectionable (especially towards the finish) and as such achieves something that is quite rare in a beer for me. Actually if it wasn't for the harsh finish, this wouldn't be all that bad.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

This is such a well-crafted beer; wonderfully rich, smooth, balanced and delicious. Pours an opaque black with an almost subliminal ruby hue. The dense brown head leaves light lacing. Strong aroma of coffee grounds and dark malts. Mouthfeel is very smooth and creamy. Robust flavors of smooth bourbon-laced semi-sweet creamy coffee. Slight bitterness in the finish with no perceptable alcohol. MUSIC: Restorative Beer by Fiery Furnaces